Groundbreaking Plastic Recycling Tech Nearing Completion

Aduro Clean Technologies Inc. (CSE: ACT) (OTCQB:ACTHF) (FSE: 9D50) recently announced that its R2 Plastic recycling reactor, a pilot-scale continuous flow machine capable of recycling nearly any type of plastic, is nearing completion. Expected to be fully operational in mid November 2022, the reactor utilizes Aduro’s patented Hyrdrochemolytic™ technology to efficiently and affordably process a wide variety of plastic feed stocks into new plastic materials or even transportation fuels.

The water-based Hydrochemolytic platform addresses many of the shortcomings in current recycling technologies. As of now, as much as 80% of plastics cannot be recycled due to technical limitations and problems with impurities. What’s more, there are many areas where plastics aren’t recycled at all due to lower population density which doesn’t support the large scale recycling plants required in most cases.

Compared to current technologies, Aduro’s solution is scalable down to the small community size, operates at much lower temperatures (requiring less energy and money), produces lower emissions, and costs less to build. Plastic waste is making its way into every corner of the planet, and the way to create a circular economy for plastics is complex. But technology like the Hyrdrochemolytic platform developed by Aduro plays a major role in the global quest to limit plastic waste.

Aduro is taking a methodical approach to the commercialization of Hydrochemolytic technology. After a few years of development in the lab, during which the basic effectiveness of the platform was proven on a batch by batch basis (R1), the company moved on to proving it could work in a continuous flow setting but still on a relatively small scale. Aduro found that the continuous flow model actually increased the platform’s efficiency and is now undertaking two test projects on a larger scale (R2).

This first R2 reactor is designed as a customer engagement unit, sort of a test drive of the technology for potential clients. Using the data gathered from R2, the company plans a further scale-up with an R3 Plastic reactor by the end of 2023 or so. That reactor will be capable of processing about 2,000 kg/day of plastic feedstock and is intended as the final step before building scaled plants designed to meet specific customer requirements. Plastic recycling plants, especially those utilizing new technologies, take a bit of planning before building, and Aduro’s process helps lead potential clients through all of the stages of informed decision making. Aduro already has a commitment from Switch Energy to build a pilot plant capable of processing multiple tons/day.

A second R2 reactor is slated to be built in the Netherlands by early 2023, in an industrial and technology innovation center called Brightlands. Aduro is looking to capitalize on and help advance the work of organizations like The Global Commitment, and the Plastics Pact Network. These and similar organizations have already garnered commitments from consumer companies responsible for 20% of global plastic production to greatly reduce plastic pollution and create a circular economy for plastics.

Click the link to see the latest in a series of videos examining the investment opportunity with Aduro Clean Technologies. A major investor in Aduro, Mariusz Skonieczny, discusses the significance of the company’s R2 Plastic announcement, and in earlier videos examines the company from all angles.

With Aduro, the potential markets are enormous. The global plastic recycling industry is expected to reach $47.3 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 6.1%. In the United States alone, plastic recycling accounted for $3.1 billion in 2021. The market opportunity is even larger considering that these numbers are based on the reality that somewhere in the neighborhood of 10% - 20% of all plastics are currently being recycled. Aduro’s technology opens the door to recycling plastics that are not in the current mix. The Hydrochemolytic platform handles impurities very well, and operates at a much lower cost than today’s technologies. It has the potential to flip the economic considerations which limit the feasibility of recycling the 80% of plastics currently out of the market.

But this doesn’t begin to fully describe the potential for Aduro’s patented technology. The company is concurrently developing business with oil processors and refiners, turning ultra heavy and tar-like bitumen into light crude that is transportable and much more easily refined. The company is at a similar stage with oil as it is with plastics, and its R2 pilot-scale project is scheduled to be fully operational in the next few weeks. In Alberta’s oil sands alone, anywhere from 1.7 million to nearly 3 million barrels of bitumen are produced every day. There are four active bitumen upgrading facilities in Alberta and two more in Saskatchewan, and these combine to process about 40% of the production. Bitumen is used for paving and roofing, but if it is upgraded to light crude it can be refined into all manner of higher value products.

Investors may want to follow Aduro’s developments in this crucial time in the company’s history. The pilot projects coming online momentarily should open the door to commercialization on a large scale in industries desperately seeking better, more efficient, more affordable, and cleaner technical solutions. Stay tuned.